I have always been looking at things with a critical eye. At times, I would lose my inner peace thinking and writing about everything bad happening in our society. Looking at the sky in an effort to receive the divine message of what to do to change this exploitative situation but all in vain. Draining my energy and purposelessly walking for hours, thinking about all the pain & misery which the voiceless of the society endure throughout their lives in a vague hope that their fates too might change with a stroke of luck. The more I would drown myself in the mist of confusion, the more this state of restlessness increased. The situation could have further worsened if it had not been for that blessed moment when I suddenly started indulging in retrospection of what I had gained or lost?
I decided to change my way of dealing things for a happy and prosperous life. Every time a bad news crossed my eyes, I started learning to ignore the outburst of anger flooding through my veins. Trust me, it is such an art of living that many a foolishly conscious man could never discover yet. This is a special art which miraculously soothes your heart and brings a revolutionary change in your outlook and lifestyle. The fear seems to vanish without much effort and you look confident enough to survive in the society. Now, I am no more destined to that useless pain which some outdated ideals like righteousness, integrity and honesty could cause.
The news of a seventeen year old girl surfaced who was video taped and raped in Rawalpindi and I simply smiled despite the fact that the accused managed to get a pre-arrest bail from the court. It was more interesting to learn that the accused already faced prior complaints of drug-peddling, as well as a rape of a boy, filed at Banni Police Station. I felt relieved to experience the change that this trick had brought. Such a great experience that I overwhelmingly felt at ease even after reading the news of a 35 years old lady who committed suicide after poisoning her three kids in Karachi. I neither cursed the judicial system of the country nor bit my lips as an expression of my frustration against this ever increasing inflation and bad governance in the country.
The more I realize that silence is the best skill to ensure ones survival, the more forcefully I close my lips and never utter a single word against this rampant injustice, lawlessness and the rule of might is right in this so called Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Gone are the days when I questioned myself in disbelief that how on earth these illegal prostitution centers, drug peddlers, illegal sell of alcohol, the buisness of illegal prize bonds locally known as Akra Parchi could run in open when there were law enforcing agencies and police to stop this.
I have stopped worrying about the poor infrastructure, absence of a well disciplined healthcare system even in bigger cities, the pathetic education system, poorly managed public transportation system and about filthy cities over crowded by garbage dumping points despite the fact that the system is managed by commissioned officers who are supposed to be experts in dealing with the problems discussed above.
I now consider myself a patriotic and peace loving citizen, because, I no more criticize the incapability and incompetence of the political leadership as well as all the state machinery from top to bottom who work under the constitutionally mandated authority of civilian leadership. I could have been terrified to see the consequences of the government’s lack of prioritizing education sector after watching a viral video on social media showing a group of people uprooting saplings that the government had planted in KPK but I no longer paid any attention to such frenzy because I keep uttering ‘all is well’ slogan now.
I think now I can see everything clearly through the glasses of ignorance. I see none, but all happy faces dancing out of immeasurable joy to have a smart Prime Minister; such a handsome man who just won us Kashmir with a single stroke. I can only pity those who hardly see our Prime Minister as a puppet at the hands of those he calls a mafia. They can only spit poison out of rivalry and say that he is being exploited by the mafia every now and then but such people foolishly ignore to see how bravely he challenges them so what if he surrenders at the end.
People like me are proud of him come what may and we will never stop worshiping our idol even if it is at the cost of long term national interests. I have also become mature enough to call anyone a Patwari if one fails to admit the countless battles which our great Prime Minister have won at national and international battle grounds. I hate bothering myself with these trivial details explaining every stupid person about how much we have transformed the country from its previous crises. Such a high inflation, increasingly threatening poverty, lawlessness, corruption, extreme misgovernance are all but the gifts of previous governments, therefore, the demand of reforms which the government had promised earlier is nothing but a Patwari propaganda against a Prime Minister declared as an honest man by the honorable Supreme Court.
For a long time perhaps, I have been living in a utopian world assuming that all that the books taught us in schools about uprightness, honesty, integrity, selflessness, empathy and hard work could guarantee a respectable life promised in the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Indeed, it was a life-long experience which mighty have resulted in the famous saying that when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I am a practical man now and I will celebrate the Independence Day by hoisting the green flag and overlook the pain of homeless kids begging in the streets.
The countless questions which are written on their faces about the purpose of the existence of state in their lives. The misery and pain forced upon them due to non responsive nature of the state and respective governments since 1948, after the demise of Jinnah had left them at the mercy of either the circumstances or vulnerable to the enemy for being exploited. Oh! I am sorry but I just forgot that I have recently transformed myself into a realist and I have no feelings for such citizens of the state who are no less than the extras in a cricket team. I am a happy young man who has liberated himself from the clutches of the agony and now I will celebrate the Independence Day like everyone else.